Trump hails Sisi's 'fantastic job' in Egypt

Augusto Ortiz de Zevallos, Peruvian architect

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017 WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump set human rights scandals aside to welcome Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the White House on Monday, the first such visit from an Egyptian president in almost a decade.

Greeting Sisi warmly in the Oval Office, Trump heaped praise on the former general’s leadership as he sought to mend ties strained by crackdowns, revolution and counter-revolution.

“You have a great friend and ally in the United States and in me,” Trump told Sisi, sweeping aside his predecessor Barack Obama’s concerns about Sisi’s purge of political opponents and rights activists.

The meeting symbolises the Egyptian leader coming in from the cold, after years of being kept at arm’s length by Washington.

Trump is betting that Egypt can be a partner in achieving two key goals — restarting the Middle East peace process and tackling jihadist groups.

“I just want to let everybody know that we are very much behind President al-Sisi — he has done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation,” Trump said.

The catalyst for Trump and Sisi’s friendship has been a common hardline stance against jihadist groups, which Sisi described as “a satanic ideology” during brief remarks at the White House.

The former New York property tycoon and the former Egyptian army general, who had no plans for a joint press conference, previously met in September when Trump’s campaign was in full swing.

Trump at the time called Sisi a “fantastic guy”. AFP